W.H. Auden collection

Wystan Hugh Auden, a poet, was born in York, England, on February 21, 1907, to George Augustus (a medical officer) and Constnace Rosalie (a nurse) Auden. He attended Christ Church, Oxford, from 1925-1928, then served as a schoolmaster in various institutions in England and Scotland from 1930 to 1935, including The Downs School in Colwell. In 1935 Auden married Erika Mann, a writer and the daughter of Thomas Mann, so that she could gain British Citizenship and escape Nazi Germany. Although the two never lived together, they remained married until Mann's death in 1969. In 1939, two years after he was awarded the King's Gold Medal for poetry, Auden left England for the United States, becoming a citizen in 1946. During the 1940s he won numerous prizes for his work, including two Guggenheim fellowships, a Pulitzer Prize, a National Book Award, and a National Medal for Literature from the National Book Committee. Between 1940 and 1961 Auden also served as a faculty member at numerous academic institutions, including the University of Michigan, Swathmore College, Bryn Mawr College, Bennington College, Barnard College, Smith College, and Oxford University. Throughout his career he collaborated with other artists including Christopher Isherwood and Louis MacNeice, and frequently produced libretti for musical works by Benjamin Britten, Igor Stravinsky, and Mozart with his companion, Chester Kallman. Auden died in Vienna on September 28, 1973, and was buried near his summer home in Kirchstetten, Austria.